Beating Urban Pitchaz

This is important also, because none of them went to school for fashion. No one studied it or won a scholarship to anywhere, except in the school of life, so to speak. They’re the ones who decided what they wanted to do, and they’re the ones who decided what everyone’s role in the ‘fashion avengers’ would be. Edwin Maina is the main beater – he ‘beats’ the pictures, because that’s what he likes to do best. Bill Clinton Okang’a (who tells me not to forget to include his African name in the article, which of course I would not!) doesn’t mind modelling

“If only to bring my concept to life”, but prefers directing and styling. He enjoys the shopping, the sourcing, the colour coordination, the whole shebang. Then there’s Ali Muro, the guy behind the scripting and conceptualization of the shoots, a play by play of how they’ll go. Jordan does graphic design and marketing. They all have a different superpower, which makes everything easier to run, and easier to delegate.

“When we first started doing this, in Kenya, not a lot of people used to understand what we were doing. But now that we’ve grown, when people see the opportunities we’ve gotten, more and more people start getting interested in trying to do what we’re doing too.” It feels like that’s what heroes do, no? Inspire people to do better, and literally fly?

One of these opportunities was for this very magazine. And even though they’ve never done anything to do with Afropunk, they quickly found their footing. How? The Chemical X to their cocktail: research.

“We always do research with everything we do. When we were told what the theme was, we checked out looks we could do that combined the feel of Afropunk – which we feel is a fusion of Afrofuturism and vintage – that then blends with our own aesthetic. It’s the first time we’ve ever done something like this.” Things like this, and maintaining their authenticity, are what makes their work unique, and relatable. Something that not everyone can easily imitate. The essential Afropunk vibes.

When I ask what shoot they’re doing next, they are close-lipped, because it’s supposed to be a surprise that they’ve been apparently working on for quite a while; something special that’s under wraps because it is only the second personal project they’ve done this year. They’re not the type to rush projects, doing a shoot every week just to produce something that looks like everything else already out there.

Usually, Urban Pitchaz does maybe two shoots a month at most, to give them the proper time needed to prepare, research, put the idea together, and then execute it. “People try to do the same styles as the West, but what they don’t realize is that your art stands out when you remain yourself. Inspiration is not copying.”